Moving

I have mixed feelings about this big change we have recently made. Moving to Cincinnati from Arkansas has been exciting and we all love seeing our family members more often. It is a city with a lot more to offer than our little corner of Arkansas. My house has SO much more space, for which I feel grateful every day, especially with baby #4 coming. But today as we sang the opening song in Relief Society, all I could think about were the faces of wonderful friends in our old ward. I miss them. I miss knowing people's names and feeling a part of things. I miss knowing how to get places without a GPS. I miss the way people in Arkansas are a little more laid back. I've already been yelled/honked at twice for driving too slow. "Hello..I don't know where I'm going and am trying not to miss my turn", I wish I could yell back. Not to say that we haven't been warmly welcomed in our ward and at the kids' new school, because we have. It all just feels so strange still, foreign somehow. And the saddest part of all is watching your children go through the same thing. They just aren't as happy as they were before. We have a lot of tears over little things and find out later they just miss their old school, friends, life. They are stressed too. Samantha keeps saying to us at night, "when are we going home?" No matter how many times we tell her this IS home now, she keeps asking. Tyler is scared to ride the bus, even though it picks him up on his driveway, drives one mile to the school and back home again. Audrey thinks she's going to get all Fs because they are doing fractions in her class that she hasn't learned yet. It is hard seeing them so sad. I know it takes time. I know we need to reach out and do our part to make new friends. I also know that this is where the Lord wants us right now. But that doesn't mean the transition is a piece of cake. Hopefully things will improve soon. Little triumphs is what we'll celebrate. One day at a time is how we're going to make this our new home. In the mean time, we miss you Arkansas!